An Uncharacteristic Smile
by Yuki Matsuda
Summary: A sprite visits Severus Snape five times. The first four times, it saves his life ... the last time ... it helps him welcome his death. 5 short chapters, R&R please!
1. A Prowling Panther

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I don't own Severus Snape, Albus Dumbledore or any of the other characters, places and settings mentioned in this story.**

**_So. This is a totally random story that I couldn't help but write. I have no idea what inspired me, I just sorta started writing on my iPod during class one day a few weeks back. So, I hope you enjoy - read and review, please!_**

~o~

_A sprite visits Severus Snape five times. The first four times, it saves his life ... the last time ... it helps him welcome his death._

~o~

Severus growled; he was cornered, again. He looked around him slowly, sweat beading on his brow, at the werewolves emerging from the trees. It hadn't been a stupid idea to go into the forest on the night of the full moon, he'd known he could've taken on one werewolf – if he had by chance came across one – but not three, at once, surrounding him. He had always hated werewolves, even more so since the incident with the Marauders. Why was it the flower he needed only bloomed on the full moon...?

He could almost hear the saliva dripping from the fangs of the monsters, their growling reverberating through the trees. As he felt his back press up against the tree behind him, he cursed. A putrid scent reached his nose, and the growling behind him turned into snarling as he felt the werewolf's hot breath on his face. In an instant he threw himself away from the tree. He cried out as he was knocked to the ground by something heavy, then scrambled to his feet, running away as fast as his legs could carry him. Stuffing the small plant into a knapsack and whipping out his wand, he turned back for a second to launch some dangerous spells. However, looking back, he couldn't see, or hear, anything at all.

A rustle in the bush behind him and he spun – his eyes widened as they met a werewolf in the air behind him, fangs bared. He was unable to lift his wand, paralysed with fear as the great beast roared at him from above -

And then it was gone.

Severus spun around to the left, where the werewolf had landed. He held his breath as he realised it was unconscious, something had knocked it out of the air. He owed his life to something, and he had no idea what, but he didn't have a lot of time to consider what it could have been before he heard growling behind him, again. Turning slowly, he was ready now to fire a spell or two. He wasn't surprised to see both the other werewolves, but he was astounded to see, standing between himself and the demons, was a stunning blue light. It was shining from the body of what looked like a blue-furred panther. He could only stare at the strange ally as it snarled at both of the werewolves, and watch them both back off slowly, teeth bared and growling back.

There was silence for a moment after the danger was gone, and Severus, in that time, caught his breath. The panther turned its head sharply to look at him, making him hold his breath again, before it turned around slowly and stared him down. Its paws made no sound as they touched the ground, its fur like rippling water as its muscles moved with precision. It approached the Potions Professor, who backed up a little, wondering whether the sprite was a friend or a foe; however, before he could even consider asking, the blue light flashed in front of his eyes. He closed them, temporarily blinded, and when he opened them again, the panther was gone. In disbelief he shook his head before turning back to the still unconscious werewolf. Its breath was shallow and weak, it had been hit pretty hard – luckily for him.

He turned and walked briskly back in the direction of the castle. His knuckles were white as he gripped his wand, placing his feet rather carefully to avoid making any more noise. Soon enough he passed through the trees and into the moonlight and the mist – lighting his wand he pushed to the back of his mind the urge to sprint towards the castle. He cursed Potter and his stupid friends, playing that trick on him in school and scarring him for life. Had he been in a better mental state, he could have taken all three of them on and be on his way without that … thing's help.

When he reached the big oak doors he couldn't have been more relieved to hear the hinges screeching in protest. He closed the door behind him and for a moment he rested with his back to it, taking a breath and feeling rather grateful for the sanctuary of the castle walls.

That was the first encounter.

Since then, the strangely beautiful beast had appeared to him four more times, when he needed it the most – same blue shining light, four different forms.


	2. A Singing Phoenix

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I don't own Severus Snape, Albus Dumbledore or any of the other characters, places and settings mentioned in this story.**

**_So. This is a totally random story that I couldn't help but write. I have no idea what inspired me, I just sorta started writing on my iPod during class one day a few weeks back. So, I hope you enjoy - read and review, please!_**

~o~

_A sprite visits Severus Snape five times. The first four times, it saves his life ... the last time ... it helps him welcome his death._

~o~

That was the first encounter.

Since then, the strangely beautiful beast had appeared to him four more times, when he needed it the most – same blue shining light, four different forms.

The second time happened the year that Dumbledore's Golden Boy, Harry Potter, entered Hogwarts. Strange things started happening that year, mostly with Professor Quirrel - the man was being awfully suspicious. It wasn't too bad until one night when Quirrel burst into the Great Hall during dinner, announcing that a troll had found its way into the dungeons. Severus, knowing something was wrong, snuck out among the chaos of flocking children, and made his way to the 3rd floor corridor, which had been marked out-of-bounds to students. The turban-wearing man was right ahead of him, walking purposefully straight for the forbidden room at the end of the corridor, where Severus knew Dumbledore was hiding something extraordinarily special – the Philosopher's Stone – and he knew that Quirrel was after it, for obvious and selfish reasons. Severus watched the man unlock the magically closed door, then followed him in, his wand raised.

The sight before him rendered him breathless – and the heavy blow to the chest rendered him temporarily paralysed. Quirrel was sending spells left and right, his face painted a fresh coat of horror as the three-headed dog barked savagely, saliva flying in all directions as it whipped around in an attempt to take a bite out of the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. Severus, after catching his breath and standing up, attempted many stunning spells on the beast, none of which worked. The dog snarled at both men, and one head lunged at Severus, who turned and tried to flee for the back of the large room. Giant teeth clamped shut on his leg, and he roared in pain before falling to the floor. He was dragged backward and into the air, his leg searing in pain, until a flash filled the room and he was dropped, rather hard, onto the wooden floor. He scrambled away, wondering if Quirrel had cast an effective spell, but when he looked around, he found the man unconscious in the corner closest to him.

Turning back to the dog, he saw a great blue bird between them. He watched as the icy Phoenix flew in circles around the dog, gracefully dodging its jaws as it snapped at it. It didn't take long for Severus to realise that the bird was singing, a beautiful song that reached his ears and calmed him completely, every muscle relaxing as he slumped against the wall behind him. The feathered ally continued circling and singing until eventually the dog laid down, closing its eyes and soon snoring. Severus watched the Phoenix land in front of him, folding its wings and approaching him slowly, stopping in front of his leg. Severus watched in awe as the creature shed its clensing tears, watching his bones and shredded skin close up in front of his eyes. The process happened slowly, until he had only a few deep cuts left.

The Phoenix was interrupted however by a moan from the man in the corner. They both looked over to Quirrel, and when Severus looked back, the bird was gone, tears and all. His leg still had a few cuts, but it was a lot better, considering the condition and the pain it'd been in a few minutes before. Severus stood, finding it surprisingly easier to do so than he thought, then marched over and grabbed Quirrel roughly by the collar, dragging him outside and locking the door with magic, again. He roughly placed the semi-conscious man onto a stretcher, then levitated him to the infirmary, running into the Headmaster and Professor McGonagall on the way out and following them to the girls' toilets to find the troll.


	3. A Slithering Snake

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I don't own Severus Snape, Albus Dumbledore or any of the other characters, places and settings mentioned in this story.**

**_So. This is a totally random story that I couldn't help but write. I have no idea what inspired me, I just sorta started writing on my iPod during class one day a few weeks back. So, I hope you enjoy - read and review, please!_**

~o~

_A sprite visits Severus Snape five times. The first four times, it saves his life ... the last time ... it helps him welcome his death._

~o~

The third time was a similar situation to the first. Having followed the 13 year old Potter to the base of the Whomping Willow, Severus had made his way inside, found Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and the Golden Trio inside and then woke up some time later to realise that he'd been knocked out and they'd escaped. Cursing, the man got up, sore, and wandered outside. Before he got back to the base of the tree, he heard voices; emerging from the entrance, he spotted the trio, walking towards them quickly and getting ready to give them all reasons why he should expell them on the spot, before he heard Black's voice. Turning around, he saw the man screaming nonsense at Lupin. At first it didn't occurr to him what was going on, until he saw the taller man's face and body twitching, the reflection of the full moon dancing in his now blood red eyes.

In horror, Severus stood in front of the children as Sirius morphed into a canine, battling the untame werewolf for a short period of time before he was thrown away like an old toy. Sweat formed on his brow as he backed up, the three kids behind him, as the werewolf turned its attention to him. It started snarling, then fell onto its front paws and got ready to run at him, but a howling in the distance stopped it in its tracks. Severus watched in disbelief as it turned, growling one more time at them, before running off into the Forbidden Forest. Severus let the kids go, picking up Ronald Weasley and getting ready to walk back to the castle in silence when he heard a whining, and suddenly Harry Potter was off like a shot. He ran down the slope toward where the mangy mutt Black had wandered, wounded, and Severus was forced to make a decision – Potter, or two other students?

He ended up walking the other two back to the castle, unable to leave Weasley with a broken leg. The teenagers' protests filled the air as he marched them right back to the castle and straight to the infirmary. He then ran back out, ready to find Potter, if the boy and his mangy godfather were even still alive.

To cut a long story short, he encountered Remis Lupin again that night. The werewolf snarled and snapped, backing him against a tree before raising a paw, ready to strike. He clenched his eyes shut, useless as his wand had long been knocked out of his hand by the beast, before he heard it screaming in pain. He opened them again quickly to see a snake, its scales icy blue and glowing, wrapped around the monster's leg and sinking its fangs deep into it. Lupin staggered backward and fell over a rock, landing with a loud thud. Severus, breathless, watched the snake slither away from its now silent prey, approaching him slowly. It hissed at him, but in less of an aggressive way; Severus felt that it was more of a message, telling him the deed was done and he was safe.

Out of impulse and curiosity, Severus knelt down, reaching out for the animal slowly in an attempt to touch it, to feel the scales beneath his fingers. The creature stayed perfectly still until Severus' fingertips brushed the snake's skin, cold and harsh and at the same time smooth. The snake seemed to trust him as it pushed its head up against Severus' hand before disappearing – not in its usual blindning fashion, but instead disintegrating like glowing dust as though the breeze was blowing it away. After a moment in which Severus gathered himself and found his wand, he ran off in the direction of the lake, where he eventually found both Potter and Black, lying side by side on the rocks next to the lagoon. He rushed down to them, checked their pulse and let out his breath, before placing them both on levitating stretchers and taking them back to the castle.


	4. A Dashing Unicorn

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I don't own Severus Snape, Albus Dumbledore or any of the other characters, places and settings mentioned in this story.**

**_So. This is a totally random story that I couldn't help but write. I have no idea what inspired me, I just sorta started writing on my iPod during class one day a few weeks back. So, I hope you enjoy - read and review, please!_**

~o~

_A sprite visits Severus Snape five times. The first four times, it saves his life ... the last time ... it helps him welcome his death._

~o~

The fourth time was during Potter's 5th year. Severus encountered a flock of rogue Dementers on the Quidditch pitch, none of which seemed to want to listen to reason. He was frozen, and one of the hundreds of Dementers was close enough for Severus to hear the rattling breath, to feel the icy cold touch of its hand on his shoulder as it leaned forward for a kiss...

Then there was a light, and a warmth that he didn't think he'd ever feel again. The cold bones left his shoulder and the Dementers screeched loudly, as though the heat was melting them. Severus turned – he'd already recognised that blue shining light – and saw a unicorn. It trotted up behind him, halting in front of him and kneeling a little, as though beckoning Severus onto its back. He climbed up with surprising ease, then wrapped his arms around the beautiful beast's neck, holding tight and panicking as it reared up before bolting away from the shadows at an amazing speed, a trail of light streaking behind it.

It didn't take it long to reach the castle entrance, where the it kneeled down again, allowing Severus to slide easily off the side of the unicorn, its soft fur brushing his hand as he landed on the ground in front of the great doors. Severus thanked the stunning beauty, and it neighed softly and dug at the ground in response. Severus smiled genuinely at it, and its big, shining eyes looked him over. He brushed its fur and maine for a little while before the creature looked up and pricked its ears, startled. Severus frowned and looked around, turning to the oak doors as he heard the familiar sound of someone pushing them open. He looked back for the unicorn, which had disappeared, as he'd expected, then turned back to walk inside with Albus Dumbledore, who was wearing a serious expression.

Severus' next encounter was his last.


	5. An Uncharacteristic Smile

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I don't own Severus Snape, Albus Dumbledore or any of the other characters, places and settings mentioned in this story.**

**_So. This is a totally random story that I couldn't help but write. I have no idea what inspired me, I just sorta started writing on my iPod during class one day a few weeks back. So, I hope you enjoy - read and review, please!_**

~o~

_A sprite visits Severus Snape five times. The first four times, it saves his life ... the last time ... it helps him welcome his death._

~o~

Severus' next encounter was his last.

His face was solemn as he watched his dark master toy with the wand, the one which he himself had stolen from Albus Dumbledore's grave. He gulped silently as the evil man – no, demon – paced in front of him, contemplating aloud why the wand seemed to be no more than an ordinary wand to him, when it was supposed to be the invincible wand, the great weapon described in the Wizarding fairy tale known as the Deathly Hallows. The wand was supposed to allow the user to be undefeated in battle, and there seemed to be something the Dark Lord had overlooked ...

Severus shook his head. Everything had been flawless... there was surely nothing that the Dark Wizard was missing ... unless he'd somehow realised what Severus and Dumbledore had planned.

"Severus," the Dark Lord called, his voice grating on Severus' mind like nails on a chalkboard, making him cringe almost visibly. He responded calmly, using his Occlumency to the best of his ability. The Dark Lord didn't seem to notice as he wasn't probing further into the tratorous Death Eater's mind. Instead, he smiled cruelly, turning to Severus and holding up the wand.

Severus' eyes widened in fear. He hadn't figured it out, of that he was sure, so what was he doing? He couldn't … he wouldn't … Severus begged, tried pitifully convincing the Dark Lord that he had been a faithful servant since the beginning and nothing had gone wrong, but the conviction in the demon's voice and the emotionless eyes made Severus go cold, and he shook his head in disbelief as the excuse was made and the wand was raised to his chest, and the Dark Lord whispered two fatal words. Severus felt the breath leave his chest, the world around him spun and he fell to the dusty wooden floor, barely able to hear his killer's footsteps as he stepped over his body and out of the room.

A few moments later, he was approached by two distant voices, and a hand shaking his shoulder … Potter … it was Potter … he needed to know … it was him and the Dark Lord, nobody else could help him now. He expelled his memories like tears, telling the children to take them and go, that they would explain everything. He then took a shuddering breath as he relaxed into semi-consciousness, barely aware that Potter and the know-it-all had left. A blue light shone in the darkness, and he turned his head to the side.

That's when he saw her, a beautiful woman draped in a light cloth, walking over to him and kneeling next to him with a concerned expression. Her skin glowed, a dazzling ice blue that captured him completely. She brushed his hair away from his forehead and cupped his cheek, her hands cool and calming against his flustered skin. Severus could do nothing but look up at her, his vision blurring slightly as her light began fading into darkness. She formed words with her lips, but he could neither hear nor read them. As he shook his head slowly, she smiled at him, sadness dancing in her eyes as she leaned in, touching her lips to his gently.

Severus closed his eyes, for the last time, welcoming death with an uncharacteristic smile.


End file.
